Chapter 1

If there was anyone in the hallway of the hospital near the conference room they would see the new chief of surgery walking towards the door. They would hear the black stilettos clicking on the tiled floor and the small mumbles of the owner of the stylish pair of shoes. They would see that she was wearing a black pencil skirt hugging the thin curves and the white blouse that showed just enough at the throat exposing the tan glowing skin of the woman beneath. Her hands were twisting together in anticipation before she brought one up to pat her long dirty blonde curls, no doubt making sure she wasn't a nervous wreck like how she was feeling on the inside. But if anyone were in the hallway looking at the new chief of surgery they would see a stylish, put together 30 year old woman who knew exactly what she wanted and would stop at nothing to get it.

Meredith Grey glanced at her reflection in the glass of a window and adjusted her skirt over her legs again and looked back down at her pocket watch, anxious for when Richard would announce his retirement and her appointment as chief. She glanced around at her surrounds and grimaced in distaste at the disorder the staff seemed to have left the place; she didn't know if that was because of the haste they left to attend the conference call or if it was just the way people worked. Whatever it was, Meredith knew that she would have to change it since she wasn't running a hospital that was messy…especially if it was on purpose. She pulled her sleeves further over her wrists, wishing she had brought the jacket that went with it but she hadn't because she was used to the weather down in Sans Francisco and she hadn't realized Seattle would be wet and dreary compared to the warm sun and high temperatures of her last home.

She sighed again and smiled warmly at a nurse who walked by, but seeing the barely veiled assessment given to her by the woman, she grimaced in distaste and twisted a piece of hair in between her fingers. This hospital would be exactly like her last one; a pure gossip run mill that thrived on the embarrassments and lives of its staff…the only difference was the damn weather. Meredith shifted on her heels again and leaned her small frame against the wall in irritation. She thought she was getting away from a life like that and it was the only reason she had accepted Richard's offer to take over the run of his hospital…that and the fact that she was now running her own hospital.

The door to the conference was a few feet in front of her and she could hear the excited murmurs of its occupants and became slightly more nervous at the prospect of meeting them for the first time. If she had had her way, today would have been a refresher of everyone's memories; she had wanted to fly down a week ago to familiarize herself with the facility and its staff but Richard had told her not to, and the first time she had been in the building was yesterday…and he had made sure that no one knew who she was at the time. Meredith had been absolutely livid with him when she found out he was hiding her; she wasn't used to the idea of being hidden as if she was ashamed of something, she wasn't that kind of person. But Richard had convinced her that it would be better to meet them all today instead and had told her that he had his own reasons for not letting his residents and attendings meet her when she first came. So she trusted him and let it drop and now she was outside of a conference room waiting to be told she could come in at Dr Webber's signal and surprise the hell out of his staff…not something she was honestly looking forward to. She wasn't very comfortable with the idea of a surprise since she hated them herself, but this was her mentor and father figure so she trusted him.

She was Meredith Grey, new chief of Seattle Grace hospital, and brilliant past head of neurology at Sans Francisco General hospital and a beautiful, wealthy single woman.

----

Mark Sloan, head of plastics at Seattle Grace, stood with his arms crossed in the corner of the room, surveying its occupants with mild curiosity. He shifted his scrub clad legs and leaned further on the wall supporting him, running his hands over his short brown hair. None of them could shut up about the news that Richard Webber would announce his successor soon and the fact that there were only four people who were in the running; Derek, Addison, Burke and him. He smiled proudly of that fact, though secretly he had no real desire to run the hospital, he had a life and he wasn't willing to give it up…though if he was asked he would do it. The thing was he didn't really care that much about the position; he only participated in the race for chief because he thought it would be fun and interesting, besides he had made sure the others were on their toes. He was just that good.

Mark grinned cockily at his thoughts and turned to look at his best friend and fellow surgeon Derek Sheppard who was leaning on the wall next to him. "So who do you think got it? Addie?"

Derek scowled and closed his blue eyes as if in mock pain. "God I hope not…she would never let us live that down for the rest of our lives."

Smiling he pointed to their other competition, "Burke then?"

Derek shook his head and laughed lightly under his breath, "After the thing with Yang? I don't think the chief trusts him right now…I think we are the only ones who have a real shot at this……and when I say we, I mean me."

Mark laughed loudly at his friends and took his lean body away from the wall. "Well aren't we cocky?"

"Surgeon's curse"

He laughed along with Derek again and turned his attention to the approaching retiring chief of surgery who was heading to the front of the room with quick strides. "Well I guess we will find out soon."

Mark listened to the chief tell the staff about recent developments with a new surgery he wanted to try out and then when he paused some first year resident raised his hand, asking loudly what was on everyone's mind; the new position. He watched as he noticed how Richard was shifting nervously from foot to foot as if in anticipation for the answer he was about to give and then saw that the man had given up whatever pretenses he was going to use to broach the topic.

Richard took a deep breath and folded his hands in front of his chest. "I'm very happy to be giving up my position and hospital in the capable hands of my friend and fellow colleague. I know that I will miss this place very much, which is why I am staying as head of general surgery with permission from the board…and though it is a major salary reduction (at this many people chuckled at the weak joke) I am very proud of my replacement. She is a great surgeon for her age, one of the best in the country and I am delighted to have her fill my place."

At the mention of a 'she', Derek and Burke visibly deflated and Mark smiled knowing that Derek's comment about Addison not letting it go after was so true. He watched as Addison's face lit up and she turned victorious eyes to Callie before stepping forward a little bit in anticipation for Richard to call her name and she would no doubt join him at the front. Twisting a little he saw Richard motion for O'Malley to come over to him and he watched as the intern/resident to be walked towards the door with a rather perplexed look on his face. When he opened the door and disappeared behind it, Mark knew something was up so he shifted his eyes back to Richard and waited for an explanation.

Richard cleared his throat and continued where he left off, talking about how she was a famous neurosurgeon who worked with even more famous surgeons in her field at Sans Francisco General, eventually becoming the head of neuro there and earning herself a reputation as first in the country and second in the world. Mark shifted his glance to Addison again and saw that she had a confused look on her face since she expected it to be her career that was being described and a little cheated that it wasn't. He smiled ironically in her direction and then moved his head over to Derek's to whisper something smart about her. But he stopped abruptly with his mouth open when he saw the awe in Derek's eyes and the slight way his own mouth was falling open. Mark glanced suspiciously at his friend's expression and then turned to the door, watching as George walked through leaving it opened for someone to follow.

"It is my pleasure to announce Seattle Grace's new chief of surgery Dr Meredith Grey."

Derek's head snapped from his stare at Richard and turned it disbelievingly to the door way. Mark noticed again the weird way Derek was acting and watched the door, slightly nervous to see the woman who was going to walk through. It wasn't long before everyone's attention was fixed to the door and the clicking of heels on the floor announced the approach of their curiosity. When the clicks stopped Mark strained to see the body that walked through the door and when he saw her, his breath, along with everyone in the room except Richard's who was walking forward to greet her, was audibly sucked in.

Meredith Grey was of average height but she was anything but average; long legs that seemed to travel forever under the tight black pencil skirt she was wearing, a waist that was shapely but with a noticeable flat stomach under the white button blouse, tan flawless skin, a perfect oval face with high cheek bones and full soft pink lips under a curtain of silky dirty blonde hair that was in perfect messy curls. But the one thing that caught Mark's attention was the vibrant green emerald of her eyes; eyes that were casting curious glances at the staff members. When they settled on his form they stopped for a second longer, appraising him silently. He gave her a cocky smile, shifting again on his feet but after he had grinned she moved on to the others near him and he couldn't help but feel like he wanted them back on him.

She stopped, smiling brilliantly at Richard, and opened her arms to embrace him tightly before following him back to the front of the room where he had stood previously. Richard proudly let everyone get a good look at her and looked particularly proud that his staff was speaking loudly to each other about the new arrival. Dr Grey spoke quietly to him before turning her attention back to surveying her new co workers with a trained apprising eye…an eye that Mark couldn't help but flinch when it flew over him. He closed his own eyes briefly and turned to look back at Derek but his friend was still staring, astonishment and some sort of weird resentment leaking from his pores.

"Hey man, what's up with you?"

Derek broke contact with Dr Grey and shifted his eyes to rest on Mark, "That's Meredith Grey…she's…she is like the…she's just an amazing surgeon."

Mark chuckled worriedly and narrowed his gray blue eyes at him, "You know her Derek?"

He shook his head disbelievingly up at him and turned back to the new chief who was currently waiting patiently for everyone to stop talking, "You don't?"

Mark swung his head to stare at her again but remained silent, not answering Derek's question, as Richard waved his hands over his head trying to gain the attention of the flustered group of surgeons.

"People, people calm down! It's not like there's a crisis or anything, now we have to get back to work since the board is obviously not clear. But Dr Grey and I will be stepping in to view different scheduled surgeries throughout the day, and will be pitching in randomly to see different patients and residents so I want everyone to work their best to show her what it is like to work here at Seattle Grace. Thank you, dismissed." Richard waved his hands again in an effort to clear the room, smiling at the woman on his left while everyone flooded the exits.

Mark stayed back a little, not wanting to get involved with the rush of feet and bodies trying to get out of the doors faster than everyone else. He grabbed Derek's arm tightly to make sure he waited with him and then followed at a leisurely pace after almost everyone had left. He kept an eye on Meredith Grey as he left and was satisfied when her own gaze met his for a second and then turned an amused glance on his friend next to Mark who was practically gawking at her. When he realized Derek was making a fool out of himself he picked his pace up and tugged him through the door and out to the balcony, walking swiftly to put some distance between the conference room and himself.

"What the hell was that Derek? You going to drool too?"

Derek scowled at him and shrugged his arm free from his grip, "No I am not going to do any such thing, it's just…Mark that's Meredith Grey!"

Raising an eyebrow, Mark smiled questioningly at him, "Yeah our new chief…what's so great about her? Besides the fact that I'd totally do her."

Scowl still in place, he slapped his hand against Mark's shoulder, "Ha don't even think about it Sloan, I don't think you would have a chance with her."

"Are you calling dibs or just doubting my skill? I'm Mcsteamy remember? Women can't resist me."

"No I'm not calling anything, she just isn't in our league Mark."

Mark's smile quickly wiped off from his face and he stopped walking to stand beside his best friend. "Why is that? She married…though I didn't see a ring…."

"Well the last journal I read about her didn't say anything about her being married, though she might have a boyfriend, I'm not sure. Anyways leave off, Mark, she is just too…anyways I think she has a past with Richard by the way he acts around her."

"A past…you don't think…?"

Derek gasped, seemingly shocked that Mark would suggest that and poked him lightly in the chest, "God no Mark, I meant to say that Richard and her mother Elis had a thing a long time ago, or so says the chief, anyways …I don't think Richard would appreciate it if you had a one night stand with her just to prove you could."

Mark chuckled and they continued to walk towards the cafeteria for some breakfast. "Yeah but I could do it."

Derek's laughter ringed out across the hallway as the two continued chatting about a different topic; the new chief going to the back of their minds.

----

Meredith leaned slightly on the balls of her feet trying to find a comfortable position as she watched a simple heart transplant performed by….Preston Burke. She leaned forward a little and forced back a brief yawn; cardio wasn't her thing…not that it wasn't amazing in its own right…she just wasn't interested. Flicking her eyes over to the clock on the right wall of the observation deck she saw that it was a little past 2 and she still hadn't gotten anything to eat. As if in agreement, her stomach rumbled slightly and Meredith put her hand against it, hoping to quiet the small noise without the crowded room alerted.

They had been in this surgery deck for a half an hour already and she had completed making notes about the head of cardio, and had finished listening to Richard talk about how great the surgeon was. But in the first few minutes into the surgery Meredith had noticed a small tick in his left hand that worried her. She didn't mention it to Richard but she made a mental note to bring it up when they were not in the same room with noisy interns and annoying residents.

She shook her hand slightly and she itched to pick up a scalpel…she hadn't performed a real surgery since she had found out she was moving to Seattle-too busy with filling paper work out and settling in the hotel room she was currently residing in. At least until she could find a nice enough flat to live in.

Meredith shifted on her seat, glancing at the clock again and let out a soft sigh; which didn't go unnoticed by Richard who stopped talking and gave her a worried gaze.

"You okay Meredith?"

She smiled reassuringly at him and then looked back down at the OR room where Dr Burke was now clamping the aorta to allow him time to place the new heart in the chest cavity. "Yeah I'm fine, it's just that even though Preston Burke is an amazing surgeon I have to admit that I'm not all that interested in cardio…and I didn't get much sleep last night." She smiled again and placed her note pad in the large pocket in her white coat. "So if you don't mind I think I am going to go grab a coffee down at the cafeteria…do you want me to grab you one?"

Richard laughed at her explanation and shook his head, "You need someone to show you where it is?"

Meredith stood up from her seat, feeling the stares of everyone in the room on her. "No I think I remember it…you know the benefits of a photographic memory and all."She smiled amusedly at him and made her way over to the door before glancing back "Do you mind if I explore a little, Richard, by myself? No offense to your thrilling tour, I just want to familiarize myself with things and people on my own a little seeing as it's what I am going to have to do anyways."

Richard shrugged and smiled at her, standing up as well to follow her out the door. When they were both away from the eyes of prying individuals from the observation deck, he took her hand in his and squeezed briefly. "Sure Mere, when you're done just stop by my office…your office… and you can help me pack my things up to move them into my new one."

She squeezed his hand back before turning to follow the path that she knew would lead her to the cafeteria. On the way she stopped to say hello to some nurses and doctors that caught her attention and it didn't take long before she made her way over to the empty line near the coffee machines.

Meredith stood in front of them, staring at the flavors offered and grimacing when she realized that they didn't have exactly what she wanted. She was about to pick up a medium sized cup when she felt a presence behind her.

"One thing you might want to note, chief, is that the coffee here sucks."

She smiled and turned around to see Addison Montgomery standing behind her holding her own coffee and a salad. Meredith grinned happily and turned around to look at the drinks again. "Guess its something I'm going to have to fix here huh?" She grabbed a cup and poured from the French vanilla machine, snatching a few packets of sugar as she turned back around to confront her friend. "Addie! I thought that was you back in the conference room, but I wasn't sure."

Addison bowed her head a little and a bright smile stretched her lips as she followed Meredith to where the sandwiches were wrapped and waiting to be eaten. "Mere, you should have said something about coming here…I had no idea."

Meredith laughed choosing a small turkey and lettuce sub and a small bag of plain chips, bringing them with her as she walked over to the cashier. She quickly paid for the food and followed Addison as she brought her to a table near the windows. As they walked, she could feel the stares trailing her and she couldn't help but feel goose bumps. Meredith quickly sat in her seat and took a long sip of her coffee. "I don't think I like the way I am being put on show."

Addison laughed, opening her salad and chewing on a small grape tomato. "Yeah well get used to it, your chief now soo."

"Yeah I know…it's so hard to believe. I mean last month I was still head of neuro and today I now have an entire hospital under my care and I don't know anyone." She sighed and opened her sandwich, taking a little bite out of the end of it.

"Well you know me and Richard so that makes two heads you have under you that trust you. It can't be that bad, I think you'll like it here…not as warm and sunny as Sans Francisco but you will get used to it."

Meredith shrugged and surveyed her old friend, noticing the blond highlights in her red hair and the happy glow in her blue eyes. "Anyways I haven't seen you in like forever! Not since our internship…how have you been?"

Addison laughed and held her hands out in front of her as if to show her body off to Meredith, "Amazing, as you can see neo-natal surgery has been good to me…but it seems neuro has been even better to you!"

Meredith laughed along with her and looked down at herself briefly, fanning disbelief, "How could you tell? Any boyfriends I should be aware of…like hotties? By the way there are some amazingly hot guys here."

Addie shook her head and smiled faintly at her friend, "Nope I am happily single, though I have to admit I'm in the market. Maybe me and you could go bar hop like we used to!"

She nodded her head, taking a bite of her chips. "Sure, I'm in the market too, though I'm not really looking that hard."

They continued to talk for at least another half an hour until Addison got a page to leave and hurriedly apologized. Meredith laughed and shooed her away, thinking about what she was going to do now that she had finished her lunch. She could walk randomly around the hospital but she didn't really like doing something like that since it seemed rather pointless…she could find some interesting case to take over but since she had tons of paperwork to work on tonight she didn't really want the added pressure of a major surgery…

Her thoughts were cut off abruptly as she overheard a couple of interns talking about a Mark Sloan and Derek Sheppard. She listened as they described the surgery they were planning on doing to a young boy who had a large tumor pressing against his frontal lobe and optical nerves. Meredith tuned the gossiping boys out and stood up to throw out the rest of her meal she hadn't eaten. The surgery caught her interest and since she had performed something very similar to it, she wanted to see how these two surgeons worked under those conditions. Besides, Richard had told her to check out the head of neuro and the head of plastics and she hadn't found a surgery she wanted to check them out in. This seemed like a perfect opportunity so she made her way over to the board to see what OR they were in.

It didn't take her very long to find the room and head over to the observation deck. There weren't many people inside watching like she had figured but she didn't really care since it gave her more room for herself.

~..~..~..~..~

Meredith leaned up against the casing on the window and looked down upon the surgery floor, trying to make out the different surgeons and interns. She could tell right away who the neurosurgeon was in there since he was wearing the headlight and glasses that came specific for the field. Derek Sheppard was tall but not too tall, and even underneath the scrub cap she could tell that he had perfect curled hair. If she recalled he was one of the people who looked like he actually knew who she was back in the conference room. But that wasn't too much of a surprise since he was a fellow neuro surgeon and would have had to live under a rock not to hear about her work.

She shifted her focus to the plastic surgeon who was currently carefully taking out what remained of the tumor near the skull. Meredith could tell that the man was well built, even through the scrubs and the over clothes and her eyes traveled to his chiseled face. He was definitely handsome…they both were handsome but she wasn't there to check out their bodies. She was there to see how well they worked together and how well they worked period.

There weren't any major complications with the patient and 40 minutes later they had put the face back on and left the room to scrub out, leaving the resident to finish suturing. Meredith was impressed by their professionalism and especially with their skill in the OR. But she wasn't very impressed by the way they treated the nurses and interns…even the resident working with them only got to watch instead of trying something themselves.

This was a common occurrence at her old hospital; something she hated every day since she sometimes got stuck with the residents who had no idea what to do because they were taking their experiences from words in a book and not real life ones. She had hoped to fix that problem when she applied to the board there to change the rules attendings had to be able to teach their students, but nothing had happed and she had remained one of the only attendings at Sans Francisco general to actually teach her students how to do anything. When she took the job at Seattle Grace she figured she wouldn't have to deal with things like this because it was the number one teaching hospital in the states…her ideas of teaching would fit right in. She had seen that only one surgeon actually did this and Dr Bailey was only a fifth year resident, none of the attendings here wanted to teach their students…they cared more about the surgeries and the prestige they got for them.

Meredith gritted her teeth in irritation as she passed the interns in the room to reach the door way that lead out to the hall way. It bothered her more than she wanted to admit and she knew that even if she was chief now, it probably wouldn't change their habits or way of thinking.

As she walked down the hallway to get to her new office, she couldn't help but hear the praises and applause the two surgeons were getting for a surgery like that. Sure it wasn't a simple surgery but something like that wouldn't even have made the front pages at her old job; a surgeon always had to test themselves on a daily basis…out of what she could see they were way too comfortable with what they were doing. She could blame it on the fact that today might not be one of those days where the amazing surgeries weren't available but still…it was annoying to see an attending not bothering to teach their students.

Meredith stepped in her office and laughed at Richard who was holding on to a huge box filled with stuff he was moving. He was trying to carry it without falling over the couch in the middle of the room but failing miserably. She quickly reached over to carry half of it and they placed it outside for the maintenance guy to take down the hall. She followed him back in and looked around the empty office that was now officially hers. Sneaking a glance over at Richard, she went over to the chair behind the desk and took a seat in it while he took a seat across from her. She paused, thinking, and decided that since he was here anyways she would broach the topic of her irritation.

"You have arrogant and cocky attendings here."

Richard looked shocked for a second and then pulled his serious face on. "Did they say something to you Meredith?"

She shook her head and fingered her cuff on her sleeve. "No they didn't, that's part of the problem…they don't talk enough."

He shot her a perplexed look and motioned her to explain what she meant.

"Well you know why I took the position here, Richard, I hated that no one taught anything at my hospital and I figured that accepting your offer to work at a teaching hospital I would be able to be with people who thought the same."

He nodded again, "We are a teaching hospital Meredith, but why do you look unhappy about that?"

"Because no one teaches here!"

She stood up and began to pace the office, trying to get rid of the annoyance rolling off her.

"What do you mean they don't teach?"

"Every surgery that I have looked in on, the attendings weren't teaching their residents, and the interns always got the shitty end of that since the residents weren't learning how to do something. Staring only helps you learn so much."

Richard was watching her warily and shifted in his seat to get a better view. "So they weren't teaching…maybe they had a reason."

She looked sideways at him and huffed, her annoyance fading as she stared at him. "Maybe…its just so irritating…I hate cocky ass attendings." She heard his soft chuckles and looked at him with reproachful eyes. "What?"

"Well since your new here I might as well tell you your now one of those cocky ass attendings."

Meredith tilted her head and pulled a face, "How so?"

"Hmmmm… you're one of the most famous neuro surgeons of our time…and at such a young age, you are considered to be a beautiful, attractive young lady who is very much still single, your now chief of one of the most respected and most sought after teaching hospital in the states…do I need to continue?"

She mock glared at him and plopped herself down on the couch. "Fine…I'm being an ass aren't I?

Richard laughed and stood up from his chair. "No you're not; you're just not used to this place yet. Why don't you take the rest of the day off and get settled into your room? I can finish up here."

Meredith considered his proposal for a second and then shook her head smiling sadly at the amount of paper work that covered her previously bare desk. "No thanks, I think I should put a dent in that over there." Sighing loudly she shifted her attention to Richard and laughed. "I still have to get used to this place huh? Well I'm not sure what I will be getting used to when I have to sit here and do paperwork all day."

He shrugged and put his hand on her shoulder. "You'll do fine, I promise, now if you don't need me anymore chief I am going to put this stuff in my office."

She followed him to the door and watched as he practically skipped down the hallway. Shaking her head again, she glanced over to the paper and sighed loudly. "I think he gave me the job because of all the things he forgot to do…" Laughing under her breath, Meredith strode over to her desk and picked up the nearest pile of papers and began to familiarize herself with her new home.